Lip Service Doesn’t Get You The Latino Vote

There is quite a bit of news regarding Representative Jeff Denham’s introduction of a piece of legislation that rewards with a “green card” all those undocumented aliens under 15 years of age who initially entered the United States by December 31, 2011 in exchange for enlisting in the U.S. Armed Forces. I find this bill absurd, offensive and unconstitutional.

H.R.2377 - ENLIST Act was introduced 11 months ago, but it is not until today that it is getting the attention it should had gotten a year ago. Why? Simply, it is election time!

I worked with the two GOP members of the House of Representatives who actually got immigration reform bills passed that went on to become law: Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (Florida) and Rep. Dan Lungren (California), both retired. I mention this because there is a huge difference between these former congress members and Rep. Denham. For starters, Mr. Denham is neither of them!

June 3rd is Primary Election Day in California; it is an “open primary” where anyone can vote for who they want on the mid-term election ballot for November 4th, 2014 regardless of party affiliation. Rep Denham is in a hot seat and he is doing whatever it takes to keep his job in congress.

He knows he has shown little for his constituency since he was first elected in 2010 yet he has found ample time to promote and support the interest of the Tea Party. The 10th Congressional District is no longer a GOP stronghold. Democrat Jose Hernandez lost to Denham in the 2012 election by less than six points.

What I take away from Denham’s latest move is confirmation that he is in trouble: 40 percent of his constituents are Hispanics and his challenger Michael Eggman is a candidate for him to be worried about.